As an Agribusiness graduate student, I intend on homing in on my developmental skills and analyzing the agricultural sector of America to better understand and help the business aspect of it. I want to test new processes and theories to help with issues such as increasing the farmworker population and addressing climate change and how to acclimate. Using this degree, it will help me continue to help within USDA, where I am currently working. I want to be able to have the knowledge and experience where I can maneuver around the organization and use my skills in the most effective way possible. I also hope to work on a project that addresses one of the issues I have listed or another pressing issue in the agricultural sector that will have an impact even after I graduate. This interest in Agribusiness arose because of my love for animals. I have always been invested in animals, but I’ve always loved business. I decided to get my degree in Business Administration and continue it with Agribusiness so that I can have that effect on animals and hopefully interact in some occupation while also increasing the agricultural workforce and fulfilling a “helping hand” purpose in life that I’ve always had for agriculture. Over the years, I have held three jobs acting as an intern over the summer and throughout the year; I have also been a member of FFA in high school. The first internship was a program through Gadsden County, and I was an assistant librarian. This was my first look at customer service, and it taught me to be patient but persistent with people. That has helped me through educational journey in providing a principle to abide by when interacting with professors. The next experience was with NCCI Holdings, Incorporated as an associate intern in customer operations in 2023; this job increased my analytical skills. We would look over applications and decide what needed to be sent and whether they entered the right information. My most recent job is USDA Rural Development in the housing division as a Pathways Student Loan Technician Trainee. This occupation has made me practice the skills I’ve learned, learn new loan practices and information, and interact with customers on a daily basis. It has also given me insight to the everyday issues of rural housing both for businesses and single-family homes while giving me a lot of information on how USDA and agriculture affect and are affected by these homes. These experiences have made me tenacious, emotionally intelligent, and increased my analytical, problem-solving, and customer service skills that have helped me in my educational journey.

From a young age, my parents encouraged me and trained me to seek God for guidance. I've strayed away a few times but I never fully let go of God's promises and I keep them in my heart. The Lord has helped my family numerous times and he still does. When I was younger, my mother was mentally ill and it began before I was born. She had a plethora of illnesses that my father and others didn't think would allow her to be successful in life. My father and she are very faithful people so when doubt began they would just pray every day, multiple times a day; after a while, my mother achieved everything she wanted and more, she didn't allow the illness to take over her life and God didn't allow it to ruin her spirit. She now has her doctorate in education-something the doctors didn't believe she could do-which shows the power of God when you trust him. Not only was my mother ill but I was as well. I had a rare kidney condition that would prohibit me from eating certain foods and having certain drinks, which is pretty hard for a kid. I would be seen as an outcast because of my weight which was a side effect of my condition. Every January or February, my father would drive me to Gainesville to attend Shands Hospital where a specialist would check my vitals and make sure my condition didn't worsen. My father was stressed but he kept his faith alive and continued to pray for my condition and my mother; by then my mother was doing a lot better but it seemed like I wasn't. We went through the same cycle for about 10 years when finally, in 2017, my specialist saw my condition wasn't recurring anymore. He released me from the hospital and retired that same year, he was one of the best specialists at the hospital and God put in his heart for him to see me be cured. God works in mysterious ways. There are many more significant instances where we saw no hope but we kept our faith alive and God helped us persevere. Even now, I continue to find faith in him to guide me into the right career. I want to be an entrepreneur and start a clothing company for plus-sized women called Delisa's; I named it after my mother. I want it to showcase hip and trending clothes for older plus-sized women because growing I could see my mother struggling to find clothes she liked. I also want to start a veterinary hospital and I have been asking God to help me decide if I should go back to school to accomplish this. I have numerous career paths but I am using my faith to decide the best option that will give the greatest impact on the world. God has been a huge part of my life and existence in good health and I will continue to confide in him to watch over my family, my dreams, and my friends so that we all will accomplish greater and represent him appropriately.

For years, I’ve shopped with my mother for clothes in Macy’s, Dillard’s, and even Jcpenny’s and she’s always been appalled of how skimpy the selection for clothes for her size were. They were drab and made her look older than what she really was; I always had a hard time finding clothes for her birthday and such because of this. Sometimes she would find some clothes that she liked but she’d have to break the bank to buy one shirt! A few years ago, I decided I want to curate a large company for plus size women and make the clothes as hip as possible without having the women break the bank. Right now, the business isn’t fully detailed but I have the basics. I want it to be a company called Delisa’s, which is my mother’s middle name, and I want it to showcase hip clothes for plus size women. I want it to be the newest fashion for sophisticated young curvy women and it must be advertised to all women of every shade of skin. Plus size clothes are really a necessity because as women get older and have more responsibilities at work and home, it’s hard to consider your weight all the time. That shouldn’t cause you to have to be satisfied with “grandma” type of clothes. My mission will be “to satisfy the stylish but yet beautifully curvy” and I want it to be in every department store I can afford. With styles ranging from full suits to winter pajamas, I want every woman to feel as beautiful as they really are. I would want to be stationed somewhere populated but full of open-minded plus size women such as Georgia or South Carolina. I believe my business will succeed because it’s such an understated problem that women who view my product will fall in love with the updated styles and beautiful fabric for every plus size woman out there. My advertising will showcase lovely plus size models (which will give way to more jobs for those women who believe they want to start their career as a plus size model thus making my company even more successful by opening doors). I believe my business will stand out from others because it’s based upon bettering the community one stitch at a time and making my mother feel better about herself and other women like her feel better about themselves. Not only will it make women feel better, it will make their pockets feel better too. Most plus size clothing runs really expensive if they are an up-to-date style. Anne Klein is a well-known brand that sells plus size clothing and they usually run for more than $50 for beautiful stain shirts and $70 for nice pants, causing women to refrain from buying such items and settling for the dreary clothes that cost around $20. In my business, I desire to make my prices affordable to the most low-budget family possible. I desire my prices to run no high than $100 for one suit and no more than $25 for a pair of pants or jeans. No more breaking the bank to look just as good as another woman who paid less for her clothes because of her size.

Years ago, a country girl from Quincy, Florida was born. She was born a twin. She had big dreams and ideas; she had so much ambition, her background seemed to not make her who she was. She graduated high school with honors and graduated college with her Master’s degree. This person is my mother, a flawless individual in my eyes but not every fairytale character has a happy story. Before I was born, my mother’s life changed dramatically with her being diagnosed with insomnia. That illness led to a host of numerous other conditions that she has. Even though she had these conditions and some other problems outside of mental illness, she progressed through high school and college effortlessly. In high school, my mother met my father and he decided to help take care of her. They went through school together battling this and spending money on numerous doctor’s visits and medications. After I was born, the conditions seemed to wear away and everything seemed normal. One day though, she started a new medication which caused her arm to shake uncontrollably. For about 4 or 5 months, she was dealing with that side effect until she began to pray and claim that her arm would stop soon. It did. Life was “normal” again, as much as it could be. From the day I realized my mom had her conditions, I knew she was a strong individual. She persevered and made a way for herself to not let her conditions ruin her. I would tell other individuals with mental illness to not let their situation ruin them. Don’t let those medications make you who you are. Hold on and maybe even pray as much as possible, pray that you keep a strong-willed mind to keep going. Never quit because of what people tell you that you may not be able to do; Only you know your abilities, in which you can do anything you set your mind to. Mental illness will not determine your life, my mother is living proof.

Greetings, I am Vaniah Cunningham, a senior at Florida A&M University Developmental Research School. I am a dual-enrolled student and have received over 30 credit hours at the university. I have excellent writing and leadership skills. I am involved in the Student Government Association as the Student Body Vice President. I have also been involved in other small clubs such as Beta Club. After high school, I will be attending Florida A&M University and majoring in Business Administration. I will be striving to earn an MBA degree and go on to start my own business, be a sports agent or an independent writer. My main hobby is writing. I believe I exemplify the true definition of a writer, someone who makes it their duty to get out there and immerse themselves in numerous amounts of literature and books that will better them for the future. About my writing, I thrive to write with dignity and passion. I love writing my literature and poems because people get to feel what I feel when I'm writing. They get to experience a story they've never known and that makes me feel great. My school and my church have always relied on me to correlate different scripts and essays for events or other activities because they know I will take pride in what I’m doing. That is why I believe I should receive this scholarship. As a child, my biggest challenge was overcoming a rare disease called Nephrotic syndrome. My family struggled with driving me to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL every year. We could barely afford the medicine I needed. Not only that but at the time, my mother was suffering from her syndromes as well. She is an insomniac and she had bipolar disorder, which ruined a lot of fun things for her. Through the years, my health would fluctuate; some days I would okay, and some days I needed to cut back on the salt. My father was very worried would not make it because most doctors have a hard time treating this. One day though, we went in, hoping that this would be the last time coming here-like we always do-and surprisingly, the doctor told us it was. I was cured! Finally, after years of suffering and praying, we overcame that wretched disease. I haven't been back since. Writing, to me, instills key principles in a person. It also encourages creativity and provokes the mind to think harder. When I write, I begin by thinking of who or what I want to center my writing around. After that, the feelings and ideas begin to flow. I get a rush of adrenaline and I type faster and faster, as the thought rushes through my veins. Writing is my favorite pastime. It sends my worries away and allows me to construct a piece of art that no one else can. They're my ideas, on my computer. I can control it and make it what I want. It's a journey of its own.

I am Vaniah Cunningham and I am 18 years old. I live in Havana, FL and I live with my mother and father. They’ve motivated me tremendously since I was a child. As a child, my family didn’t necessarily struggle, we had enough money to know where our next meal was coming from but not enough to go out and buy a brand new car. That being said, we didn’t really get a lot of help from taxes and scholarships because we didn’t really qualify for money. People assumed we had enough to do whatever we wanted, but we didn’t. As a kid, I suffered from a rare disease called Nephrotic syndrome so every year my father would drive us to Gainesville for treatment. That went on for about seven years and I had to adjust to a different diet and take medication on a regular. That took a big toll on us because they didn’t know if I would live. At the time, my mother was sick as well. She suffers from insomnia, which causes other mental health issues with her like bipolar disorder. This had to be treated as well and she’s suffered from this well before I was born. She takes medication on a regular but ever so often, the process goes haywire and she can grow out of control. It’s only happened twice while I’ve been alive but it used to be more frequent. All of these trips and medications have added up in monetary value, giving the reason I’m writing this essay. I need money to pursue a dream and take care of my parents, just like they’ve take care of me. All of these experiences have inspired me to dream and let me tell you, I have big dreams. I have dreams that require many small steps such as college. I am preparing myself for this life by researching clothing businesses that are multi-million dollar companies and taking notes because I want to start my own clothing line for plus-size women and men. I’m also searching for what type of internships will get me noticed by more companies after I graduate. Before that, I will hopefully be acing my classes at the University and earning my degree with flying colors. I need to develop connections and kinships with people so that they can help me with my business or work for me someday. After college, my main focus will need to be gaining a job in my field of interest and developing thorough blueprints and details for my business. I will curate my rough drafts into solid plans for my future business and hopefully it all comes together with all my preparation. Today, in order to achieve all of this, I am working as hard as I can and not giving up in the face of obstacles. I am aiming to be salutatorian or valedictorian at my high school. I am already the Student Body Vice President at Florida A&M High School and a devout Christian who attends St. Thomas Missionary Baptist Church. At my school and church, I am the number one person for any task they need me to do. I enjoy volunteering to help people and set up for events. I engage myself in sports and the sport I play is softball. All of this encourages good behavior, independence skills, and willingness to do anything to succeed. I am also dual enrolled at FAMU in Tallahassee, FL and have earned over 30 credit hours. My GPA at the high school is a 4.1 and at the college it is a 3.4 so far. All of this is bettering me for a successful and fulfilling future and my willingness to serve does a good deed for those around me. If my dream comes true, my parents would be exuberant and proud that, in the face of numerous obstacles, I prevailed to my highest extent possible.

For years, I’ve shopped with my mother for clothes in Macy’s, Dillard’s, and even Jcpenny’s and she’s always been appalled of how skimpy the selection for clothes for her size were. They were drab and made her look older than what she really was; I always had a hard time finding clothes for her birthday and such because of this. Sometimes she would find some clothes that she liked but she’d have to break the bank to buy one shirt! A few years ago, I decided I want to curate a large company for plus size women and make the clothes as hip as possible without having the women break the bank. Right now, the business isn’t fully detailed but I have the basics. I want it to be a company called Delisa’s, which is my mother’s middle name, and I want it to showcase hip clothes for plus size women. I want it to be the newest fashion for sophisticated young curvy women and it must be advertised to all women of every shade of skin. Plus size clothes are really a necessity because as women get older and have more responsibilities at work and home, it’s hard to consider your weight all the time. That shouldn’t cause you to have to be satisfied with “grandma” type of clothes. My mission will be “to satisfy the stylish but yet beautifully curvy” and I want it to be in every department store I can afford. With styles ranging from full suits to winter pajamas, I want every woman to feel as beautiful as they really are. I would want to be stationed somewhere populated but full of open-minded plus size women such as Georgia or South Carolina. I believe my business will succeed because it’s such an understated problem that women who view my product will fall in love with the updated styles and beautiful fabric for every plus size woman out there. My advertising will showcase lovely plus size models (which will give way to more jobs for those women who believe they want to start their career as a plus size model thus making my company even more successful by opening doors). I believe my business will stand out from others because it’s based upon bettering the community one stitch at a time and making my mother feel better about herself and other women like her feel better about themselves. Not only will it make women feel better, it will make their pockets feel better too. Most plus size clothing runs really expensive if they are an up-to-date style. Anne Klein is a well-known brand that sells plus size clothing and they usually run for more than $50 for beautiful stain shirts and $70 for nice pants, causing women to refrain from buying such items and settling for the dreary clothes that cost around $20. In my business, I desire to make my prices affordable to the most low-budget family possible. I desire my prices to run no high than $100 for one suit and no more than $25 for a pair of pants or jeans. No more breaking the bank to look just as good as another woman who paid less for her clothes because of her size. Today, in order to achieve all of this, I am working as hard as I can and not giving up in the face of obstacles. I am aiming to be salutatorian or valedictorian at my high school. I am already the Student Body Vice President at Florida A&M High School and a devout Christian who attends St. Thomas Missionary Baptist Church. At my school and church, I am the number one person for any task they need me to do. I enjoy volunteering to help people and set up for events. I engage myself in sports and the sport I play is softball. All of this encourages good behavior, independence skills, and willingness to do anything to succeed. I am also dual enrolled at FAMU in Tallahassee, FL and have earned over 30 credit hours. My GPA at the high school is a 4.1 and at the college it is a 3.4 so far. I will be majoring in Business Administration at one of the best colleges for business majors, Florida A&M University. I will also minor in Fashion Design to make my dream a success. I want to earn my MBA and it would be a dream come true if I could start my business. All of this is bettering me for a successful and fulfilling future and my willingness to serve does a good deed for those around me. If my dream comes true, my parents would be exuberant and proud that, in the face of numerous obstacles, I prevailed to my highest extent possible. This money will help me purchase books each semester and keep my family from having to go into debt by helping buy my books for me or having to go to school part time and do work-study.

The song I picked was My Future by Billie Eillish. It was pretty hard to curate a small playlist like this because I have so many songs that explain my inspiration but I managed to pick the songs that not only inspire me but keep me uplifted. These songs and my main song focus around serenity and independence, what I aspire to have and carry with me everyday in the coming years. These songs help me to imagine myself in my dream career, on an excursion in the Islands, or just comfortably in my dream home. That is my inspiration.

My life has been seen as steady from the outside but on the inside, mental health is a big part of it. My mother is the first victim of questionable mental health. As a kid, I suffered from a rare disease called Nephrotic syndrome so every year my father would drive us to Gainesville for treatment. That went on for about seven years. At the time, my mother was sick as well. She suffers from insomnia, which causes other mental health issues with her like bipolar disorder. This had to be treated as well and she’s suffered from this well before I was born. She takes medication on a regular but ever so often, the process goes haywire and she can grow out of control. It’s only happened twice while I’ve been alive but it used to be more frequent. Lately, my mother has been worried about my sister. My sister doesn’t live with us and we’ve grown apart but I don’t believe it’s her fault. She has mental health issues as well, but she doesn’t want to get diagnosed for it in fear of taking numerous medications like my mother. So she’s a wanderer. She stays in a city for a couple of weeks and gets a job and an apartment but moves out and moves on to the next city. She’s not sure what she wants to do and every time she’s around my family, she’s causing drama. We pray for her everyday and she always sends me cards for my birthday or Christmas; she’s still my sister. Recently, I’ve had a battle with mental health. I was diagnosed with mild depression and it took a toll on my education and my self esteem. I was in a dark place, I didn’t care if I died at that time because life seemed pointless. I got through that experience and I want to help others overcome as well. I want to set up a foundation for mental health patients who want a better life and I want to tie it to my business I want to start.

As a young black youth, I hope to become a multi-million dollar entrepreneur and an advocate for the black community. I hope to create my own scholarship someday for black students and give youth like myself someone to look up to and aspire to be. My plans for achieving these goals include going to college and fulfilling my dream business. My dream business is influenced by my mother. She loves having the latest styles in clothes but plus size clothes are always so drab, so I want to create my own clothing line specifically for plus size women. Knowing this, my plans for college are to major in Business Administration, preferably at the esteemed Florida A&M University, and minor in Fashion Design. I am already taking dual-enrolled courses at FAMU and have earned over 30 credits. I have taken most of my core first two-year courses and have been accepted to FAMU. In college, I desire to join the National Black MBA Association and Delta Sigma Theta because it will help with what I want to accomplish by helping with networking and encouraging my spirit as a black leader. After college, I want to jumpstart my business by getting a job at a top scale fashion business. The experience I gain from this business will help me start my own. Once I’m working there, I will be accumulating funds and ideas such as location, designs and staff for my own clothing line. After I’ve set up all that I need for the business, I will resign from my current job and begin working on my business. If all works out and God favors my plans, I want to start my own foundation for black students who aspire to be entrepreneurs and I want to start a scholarship fund. I also want to host events like galas and seminars for black students and graduates or anyone who believes they want to be an entrepreneur. I have big dreams that require many small steps such as college. I am preparing myself for this life by researching clothing businesses that are multi-million dollar companies and taking notes. I’m also searching for what type of internships will get me noticed by more companies after I graduate. Before that, I will hopefully be acing my classes at the University and earning my degree with flying colors. I need to develop connections and kinships with people so that they can help me with my business or work for me someday. After college, my main focus will need to be gaining a job in my field of interest and developing thorough blueprints and details for my business. I will curate my rough drafts into solid plans for my future business and hopefully it all comes together with all my preparation. Being an entrepreneur, an advocate for the black community, giving back to my community and giving back to my parents is what I want to achieve in life. I want to leave a legacy on America and the world by making a difference for plus size women and men. I want to make my mark and achieve everything I’ve ever dreamed of.

In college, I know I want major in business administration and minor in fashion design. I desire these two educational focuses because I dream of being an entrepreneur with my MBA degree and the fashion design minor will help me with my dream business, a plus size clothing line. Not only do I want to go to college for this but I need to go to college to make my family proud. My dream so far has varied as I grew up. I wanted to be a veterinarian but I’m not so good with science; I wanted to own my own veterinary hospital but I’m still not too good with science; and now I want to start my own clothing line, and not just any clothing line but a clothing line for plus size women and men. This idea recently sparked in my head maybe two years ago and I have just decided, about 3 months ago, to pursue it. It was inspired by mother who, for years, has struggled with finding cheap, not out-of-date clothes in her size. This became a problem for me too because every time I would find clothes for my mom to wear for a special occasion such as Christmas, they’d fit not as they should, they’d be too expensive or they’d be as ugly as sin. Finally I said one day, enough is enough, I’m going to start my own clothing line for women of her stature and from then on it has been my permanent dream. College has been on the top of my list since I was a child and I haven’t doubted about the idea of it except maybe once or twice. Through the years, I have heard stories of the fun people had in college and the success they received after it; that’s all I’ve ever wanted as well. Going to college would not only be fun and a new experience but it would keep a smile on my parents’ faces if they saw me receive my degree just like they did. My grandparents didn’t go to college so my parents were first generation college students and they hold me to the same standard their parents did. They want me to do better than them, even though they gained their degree, there is so much more they wish they’d done. They encourage me to shoot for the stars and I don’t want to hurt them by not pursuing my dreams. My choice of what I want to study will make this business a reality and make my mother exuberant.

My name is Vaniah Cunningham and I am a senior at Florida A&M University High School. For years, I’ve shopped with my mother for clothes in Macy’s, Dillard’s, and even Jcpenny’s and she’s always been appalled at how skimpy the selection for clothes for her size was. They were drab and made her look older than she really was; I always had a hard time finding clothes for her birthday and such because of this. Sometimes she would find some clothes that she liked but she’d have to break the bank to buy one shirt! A few years ago, I decided I want to curate a large company for plus size women and make the clothes as hip as possible without having the women break the bank. Right now, the business isn’t fully detailed but I have the basics. I want it to be a company called Delisa’s, which is my mother’s middle name, and I want it to showcase hip clothes for plus size women. I want it to be the newest fashion for sophisticated young curvy women and it must be advertised to all women of every shade of skin. Plus size clothes are really a necessity because as women get older and have more responsibilities at work and home, it’s hard to consider your weight all the time. That shouldn’t cause you to have to be satisfied with the “grandma” type of clothes. My mission will be “to satisfy the stylish but yet beautifully curvy” and I want it to be in every department store I can afford. With styles ranging from full suits to winter pajamas, I want every woman to feel as beautiful as they really are. I would want to be stationed somewhere populated but full of open-minded plus size women such as Georgia or South Carolina. I believe my business will succeed because it’s such an understated problem that women who view my product will fall in love with the updated styles and beautiful fabric for every plus-size woman out there. My advertising will showcase lovely plus-size models (which will give way to more jobs for those women who believe they want to start their career as a plus-size model thus making my company even more successful by opening doors). I believe my business will stand out from others because it’s based upon bettering the community one stitch at a time and making my mother feel better about herself and other women like her feel better about themselves. Not only will it make women feel better, but it will also make their pockets feel better too. Most plus size clothing runs really expensive if they are an up-to-date style. Anne Klein is a well-known brand that sells plus-size clothing and they usually run for more than $50 for beautiful satin shirts and $70 for nice pants, causing women to refrain from buying such items and settling for the dreary clothes that cost around $20. In my business, I desire to make my prices affordable to the most low-budget family possible. I desire my prices to run no high than $100 for one suit and no more than $25 for a pair of pants or jeans. No more breaking the bank to look just as good as another woman who paid less for her clothes because of her size. As you know, starting a business requires a degree or license of some kind. Starting a large scale business requires some expertise in entrepreneurship and an inspired idea. I have the idea but in order to complete the expertise portion, I need this scholarship. This money will help me purchase books each semester and keep my family from having to go into debt by helping buy my books for me or having to go to school part-time and do work-study. I will be majoring in Business Administration at one of the best colleges for business majors, Florida A&M University. I will also minor in Fashion Design to make my dream a success. I want to earn my MBA and it would be a dream come true if I could start my business knowing that I did not have to pay for too many expenses because you are all providing me with this scholarship. Also, by you bestowing upon me this scholarship, that tells me someone else believes that I can accomplish my goal of starting my own clothing line and makes me want to pursue this even more. So, if you want to see this goal be accomplished and maybe even try a piece of clothing from the inexpensive Delisa’s, this scholarship will help with all of this.